Food Star

One of our favorite resto in Melbourne is Food Star located in Sunshine. It's an All you-can-eat resto with plenty of food varieties. They've got sushi's, shrimps, octopus, steamed fish and gigantic mussels which is my all time favorite. I can eat 2 to 3 full plates of these mussels simmered in white vinegar as my appetizer and main dish as well.

For the meat varieties, my family loved the fried chicken. Though its an ordinary dish, the way it taste brings back the memories of the famous Chicken resto in our country "Max's Fried Chicken". It really taste the same. We just need to bring our very own tomato sauce to go with this chicken and that's it. Then they also got lamb shanks which you really don't want to miss if you're in Australia. They've also got ham which suits my taste because its quite sweet. Roast beef is not bad at all. Taste better with their gravy sauce.

Their soups are quite simple but you can choose from 3 different kinds. Most of the time they serve chicken and corn soup, cream of mushroom and pumpkin soup. You also get to choose some Italian dishes like pizzas and pastas.

You also got to choose from varieties of deserts from fresh fruits, pastries, cakes and sundaes. Coffee and tea is free. They've got a vendo machine in the corner for coffee and hot water for tea. In totality, Food Star Family restaurant is a safe choice when you like to treat family or friends because of the varieties of food. You won't go wrong because the price is not that expensive. It ranges from $13 to $20 depending if your having weekday or weekend dinner or lunch.

I like to go back there sometime soon as I already miss these gigantic mussels and the fried chicken..See you all there!

Moment of Truth

Finally after 5 weeks of waiting, my mother in law was approved for the one year visa we have applied for her. It was worth all the effort like having to write a letter to the embassy with attachments of some proofs, her undergoing to a medical test and completing the rest of the paperworks. We didn't know what to expect while we are waiting because there was a finding on her X-Ray in relation to her heart. We thought though, that it won't be a problem to them as it is not something contagious like Tubercolosis, which we believe is one disease that Australia is really conscious about. It turned out to be right when we got told that the request was granted.

As I mentioned on previous article entitled "Moment of waiting", this is really a big relief for me and my wife not to worry about who's looking after my 2 year old son. We both could focus on work without thinking what's going on with our son while we are away working as we know that he is in good hands.

Moment of waiting

This whole week will be very vital to us as it is during this period that we will hear some news about my mother-in-law's visa application result. Just to give you a brief idea, my mother is currently on a one year visitor's visa. We applied for this long stay visa last year for her so she could look after our 2 year old son, Enzo. It's not that we don't trust other people to take care of him like child care or day care centres, but I know that most of the parents would agree when I say that you have more peace of mind knowing that your son is at home and being looked after by someone who really cares to your family like our own mothers. Nothing beats that feeling of convenience that you don't have to rush from work to pick up your son before he's been left alone at the centre with the carer by the other kids who were already picked up by their parents. You don't need to worry to much when he's sick as you know that he's in safe hands. With this, we decided that my and my wife's mother to alternately come down to Australia and look after our son. Isn't it more economical to spend 1000 to 1500 AUD for airfare and visa once to get your relative to visit and babysit for you rather than spend 900 to 1000 AUD per month to pay for the carers? We do believe that paying for child care centres is far more expensive considering that this amount has already been reduced by the child care benefit that you could get from the Centrelink.

My mother has been here for nine months now and she's booked to return to Manila on September. We cannot keep her any longer not only because her visa is expiring on October but two grandsons await her return. She has not yet seen the latest addition to the family, my brother's first son who was born in April while she was here in Australia with us. My Dad has helped us with my mother-in-law's papers and visa application. We did a letter sent out to the Embassy confirming the purpose of her stay and that we are responsible for her well being during her stay with us. She has also undergone medical examination particularly X-Ray. We attached on our letter a photocopy of my mom's e-ticket to serve as a proof that we really abide the rules set forth on the visa stay granted which we would also intend to keep with my mother-in-law's coming. It was really a long process for her as she never had any passport before because of her citizenship issue which was never fixed before.

We hope and pray that she will also be granted with the same visa stay to save us also from more work and more expenses as well. We do hope that the medical exam turns out good because otherwise our last option is only for 3 months stay visa, which obviously will be more expensive since we would have to re-apply the visa every after three months and spend the same amount for the airfare.

Thinking positively, we are now preparing for her arrival to Australia. My wife and I would definitely take a week or two off from work to tour her around Melbourne and let her see the wonders and beautiful scenes that amazed us when we came here. It's not only that we need her to look after our son but we also do want to share with her the beauty and convenience of Australian living.

Migrants Watch Your Health!

New and not so new migrants in all countries are experiencing stress and sometimes depression as they adapt to the many aspects of their settlement. Factors like homesickness and lack of social life as they just starting back again. Missing friends and relatives that they left behind and also the foods and places they're used to go to. As they long to gain some new friends in their new country, its also hard to gain a good one because of cultural diversity and communication barrier.

Today its 8:40 am on a lovely Thursday morning. I am not at work but instead I am at our nearest medical center for a blood test. Yesterday morning at around 9:30 am at work, I was rushed in by my Australian co-worker to this same center and headed straight to the lab room to get my blood pressure and ECG test. The ECG test seems OK but what a shocker when I saw my blood pressure reached 160/100. That is why my face and hands are feeling numbed, i cant focus on my work, a feeling of lightheadedness and seems like i want to vomit. Immediately the' doctor gave me a free medicine to lower my blood pressure and advise me to rest until Friday.

It finally came to me that we should never ever neglect our health. I believe in the saying that health is wealth and that a migrant such as we should make health a paramount specially that we are all striving and working hard for our family's future. We should check and monitor our health as frequently as possible to avoid further ailments.

While waiting for my turn, i found this cholesterol awareness campaign leaflet and was terrified by the statistics that:

• One Australian dies every 10 minutes of cardiovascular disease.
• Around 25% of those who have a heart attack die within an hour of their first ever symptoms.
• Heart, stroke and vascular diseases account for 37.6% of all deaths.
• Over 51% of Australians over 25 years have cholesterol levels of 5.5mmol/L or more.

And the biggest surprise is You don't have to be overweight or unwell to have high cholesterol. You may look fit but aren't well.

Being a savvy migrant, we should always be guarding and be vigilant with our health. We still have a long way to go. Click here to send you to the cholesterol awareness campaign.

Communication, a barrier?

When my wife and I had our son born two years ago, it was only then that we realized how difficult it is to stand being unable to respond to someone's needs when you don't even know what he's crying out for. Needless to say that he was an infant who obviously couldn't utter a word at that time. Parents' instinct and advices from "had-been parents" had saved us those days. Thank God, it wasn't too long before my son learned to speak up and communicate. Why am I telling you this? I don't intend to put my son into the limelight here but cannot think of a more vivid but simple experience, that most of you can relate to, to emphasize the power of communication.

One of the challenges in our migration to Australia is English communication. Coming from a country where English is used only second to our native tongue, adjustment was not as easy as compared to those who had English as their first language. What are the issues here? At start, speaking with the locals of Australia had been very intimidating. First, you've got to make sure you understand them. Accent and speed can make your head turn up side down. We were not used to hear their accent from back home as we did adapt more on the American one. We have never been to America but basing on some stories from our fellows who migrated there, it is a lot easier I reckon. More so if they speak too quick, as most Australian men do, that will make it more difficult as you are not only catching up with the accent but the speed as well. Aussies have their own slangs or the popular colloquial terms which can be read upon on books published solely to provide reference to these terms and definitely can also be learned through time. Second, you've also got to make yourself understandable. Think about this, If we sometimes find it hard to comprehend them because of the accent, they would also be in the same boat as you, wouldn't they?

With all these, how do you think we are coping with this challenge. Honestly, before migrating, we never thought that it will be a challenge as we thought that for as long as we know how to speak the language, we will be perfectly fine. However, for people like me and my wife who are not only after earning money but rather who wants to treat Australia as the new home, we would truly want to be "one of them". To do this, we realized that we should figuratively speak the same language. This means that we need to learn how single English word is used in Australian way. We took a few actions to improve ourselves without having to attend formal studies as we knew that practice is the greatest training. We try to learn from what we overhear from people's chat wherever we are. In this way, words and accent will get into our senses slowly but naturally. We also try to speak the language with some body gestures to make our body movements in tune with what we say. We also try to join some groups on lunch outs and different functions . Didn't we hit two birds in one stone here? I believe we did. We did not only mingle with others but we did practice the language as well. Beyond speaking the language, it is important that we are confident in conversing as it will add more impact to what we say and will make us appear to be someone who has been in the country for years.

We strive to do our best to overcome any fear that we may have and get on with the battle by continuing to converse with the locals. It won't be easy, we know, as we did accept the fact that TIME is what keeps us apart from our goal of effective communication. We shouldn't stop from fighting back the fear because in doing so, we are only delaying what needs to be done. We migrated to a foreign country and that decision had came together with the will to live by it.

Now, where are we at? After a year, we could say that we have gone far and had improved a lot. Not too close to perfect, though. We are still learning and practicing but with lesser pressure and stress, I guess. So, you guys out there who are in the same situation or fearing to be on this situation, I hope this article has given so much encouragement and wisdom to all of you.

Pros of choosing to live with Relative or Friends

Pros:

1. You don't need to worry about choosing and getting a rental property.
Its relatively easy to choose a rental property these days because even while you're still not in Australia, you can browse several online real estate sites to get an idea for the rental rates. Among those online real estate sites, i found www.domain.com.au to be the easiest to use. But the difficult part i can say is getting that property that you want. Real estate agents require you to be in Australia and see the property personally before they hand you the application form. Its a must that you have a stable work already for you to secure one because most of the time, 5 or more people are applying for the same property you choose. Its very difficult to get a property if you don't have a job. Real Estate agents will choose the best tenant applicant for their client. Its advantageous if you have a place to stay already because you don't have to worry about it and focus on some other aspects of migration.

2. Relatives or Friends can guide you and can give you precious advices.
While living with them, they can give you advices about the rules of the jungle. They can show you the right things to do especially while you are starting. Its like in the movie starwars. You're the apprentice and they are your obiwans.

3. It can save you a lot of money.
Since you are not renting, you don't have to worry about shelling out money for the bond and advances that real estate agent requires you. And most of the time, if you are really that close to them, they generally don't require you to pay them. Well, for the short term i should say. But its really good thing specially if you're just starting and if you and your partner don't have a job yet. Every dollar counts.

4. Free tour!.... yepee!
Australia is a beautiful country and offers a lot of spectacular views and sceneries that anyone could imagine. I would suggest that you take advantage the first weeks and or months of your stay there. They can tour you to the best spots and restos in town.

Migrant in Australia "after a year".

It has been a year since we first stepped in the "land down under" and I would say that we made the right decision to migrate. I know it's a bit early to tell but I want to share this view as a new migrant. Yes, Australia is a country that can give you the good life you wanted, nutritious foods, cleaner environment, good weather, cars, stable politics, supportive government and mostly nice people.

It's very ideal to raise a family here especially if you want to spend quality time with your family because you don't have to work overtime to pay the never ending bills. Well, all you need is to be just a little wise in spending your money. In a couple, one can be the bread winner and the other one could stay at home to take care of the kids and do the household chores. Isn't that what most of us want? You can do that because the government will help you financially if they have assessed your income as not enough. They also provide concession card which is very helpful as it gives you discounts on utilities, transportation, medicines etc... It's not just 5% I'm talking about but 30% to 50% discount which is no joke for someone starting a new life like us. It really is very helpful. We also have the medicare card that you can just show to health care centres and public hospitals for free consultations only that you should be willing to patiently wait for your turn.

Tax is somehow high. It can range to 15 to more than 30% depending on your salary. But on the other hand, you can feel and see the benefits of your tax payments.

You see, coming from a third world country, all of these benefits that we are enjoying are just wishful thinking. But here, its just a way of life. Other residents and some Aussies may not appreciate this that much because they are accustomed to these.

Its true that migrating in itself is hard and a tough decision to every aspiring migrant. There are a lot of hearthaches & hardships during the settlement stage. But one should always think of long term. Australia is not a perfect country and one can throw negative things about it. But i can say that its one of the luckiest country in the world. Its the country where you want to start your new life.

After a year I congratulate myself and my family and thank Australia for the support and and everything that she gave us.